Business is booming — and shooting — for local tech firm

When Wo Fat shot and killed CIA analyst Jenna Kaye in an episode of “Hawaii Five-0” earlier this season, Charlie Holdaway was an accomplice.

In a sense, the owner of Holatron Systems LLC had his finger on the trigger.

Holdaway’s Kakaako company makes electronic firing devices that TV and movie producers use to shoot people and blow things up. His products also can ignite fireworks. Some say he has the best system in the business.

Moviegoers also saw his handiwork in “Tropic Thunder” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”

Simulating gunshots and explosions is a booming business. Holdaway has seen his annual revenue grow from about $10,000 in 2003, his first year in business, to about $250,000 today. Systems include remote and igniter devices that range in price from $200 to $900.

Revenue should grow even faster when he expands his market from California and Canada to places such as France, Spain, Finland and the Czech Republic. He expects to see the biggest increase in Finland and already is working with a distributor in France.

Until now, Holdaway has kept his operation small, employing two engineers, a chief financial officer, and a main technician who works on product assembly. He packages most of the shipments himself and sends them out through the U.S. Postal Service and FedEx.

That could change. As the company expands its market, Holdaway says he is now in the position to hire more employees in shipping and accounting. And he has leased more space at 833 Ilaniwai St. to accommodate more shipments.

“Hawaii Five-0” effects specialist McClain Ahuna says Holdaway’s firing devices allow for more freedom and precision in TV production, compared to other products. In the past, actors had to use systems connected to wires that had to be hidden or removed post-production.

Other inventors and engineers have tried to do what Holdaway is doing, but only he has succeeded, said Thaine Morris, a distributor of special effects equipment who has managed Roger George Rentals in Hollywood for the past two decades.

The systems also have better range than other systems, Holdaway said.

“Fireworks professionals used to use wire equipment fired through cables and the range was only 150 feet,” he said, noting that his pyrotechnic systems have a two-mile range and his special-effects systems have a half-mile range.

Holatron Systems works with other local businesses such as RHT Enterprise for metals and Min Plastics & Supply for plastic panels.

“Charlie’s contribution is that he shows that you can still manufacture things in America,” said Jay Fidell, founder of ThinkTech Hawaii, who met Holdaway through his camera operator and was impressed with his products.

A native of Lexington, Ky., Holdaway received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from MIT.

“I’ve always liked fireworks, and when I lived on the Mainland about nine years ago, I started making fireworks and rockets,” he said.

He came to Hawaii from the Mainland as an engineer for STI Industries Inc. and his division was acquired by BAE Systems Inc. in 2003.

While working for BAE Systems, he designed and perfected the systems as a weekend hobby. When he was laid off in 2003, he decided to stay in the Islands and launch Holatron.

He said the name Holatron is a combination of “hologram” and an abbreviation for electronics.

“We don’t do anything with holograms, but my wife and I were sitting around the dining table one evening and she suggested [the name],” he said, noting that most people assume it is named after him. “We wanted a name that would show the world we are staying on the cutting edge.”